UCAS response to Ofqual A level Reform consultation Introduction 1. UCAS welcomes the opportunity to respond to the consultation on the reform of A levels. 2. A levels are the predominant qualification used by UK learners for progression to higher education (HE). Although higher education institutions (HEIs) are responsible for setting their own admissions policies, UCAS‟ role as the UK‟s shared admissions service gives us a unique insight into the use of A levels, and other qualifications and information, to facilitate admission to HE. 3. UCAS‟ mission is to help learners make informed HE choices that best suit their aspirations and abilities and maximise their opportunity for success, and to benefit our members through the provision of shared services. UCAS provides information and advice; course information; entry requirements; and application services to around 500,000UK applicants to over 320 UK higher education providers each year. These applicants make over 2 million applications to HE courses. Our services support applications for full-time HNCs, HNDs and foundation degrees as well as undergraduate and some postgraduate degrees. 4. As this consultation relates to A level reform in England our response focuses on the potential impacts on English HE providers and English students, although any reforms to the A level will also affect HEIs and students in the rest of the UK. Summary of key messages The main issues that we wish to raise in relation to the proposed A level reforms are: 5. Qualification currency: The A level is regarded as the main currency used within HE admissions and therefore maintaining consistency in standards across A level subjects is essential. If achievement of an A grade is seen as more difficult in one subject than another then this makes it more difficult for HEIs to use A levels as indicators of general ability and as indicators of subject knowledge for admissions purposes. 6. Qualification structure: Some HEIs value AS results in conjunction with predicted grades as a basis for selection. AS levels were also introduced to provide breadth in the A level curriculum and encourage greater retention post-16. Their removal could both reduce the effectiveness of the admissions process and narrow post-16 learning opportunities. 7. UCAS welcomes the proposed removal of the January resit window as this will help create a more even playing field for HE applicants. We also support the view that A levels must remain equal in size, as consistency across A level subjects is important in maintaining the A level as a valued currency within HE admissions. 8. Qualification support: UCAS recognises the value of increased involvement of HE with A level development and encourages Ofqual to consider a model where a single group of representatives from across the HE sector could help develop agreed core content for each A level subject. As well as securing a common platform for subject development, 1 this approach would help to address concerns from the HE sector about the level of resources required to support A level reform. 9. Implementation: UCAS is concerned that the phased introduction of reforms will complicate HE admissions (as admissions tutors would need to consider how to adapt entry requirements and offers to deal with new subjects) and may disadvantage some learners. 10. If new A levels are introduced in a piecemeal fashion and changes to the standard are considerable, then the arguments for a change in grading are strong. This would make it clear to users which A level grades relate to the „new‟ standards. 11. If significant changes to subject specifications, structure, assessment and grading are to be introduced, we believe that the new qualifications should be piloted. 12. Across all these areas we emphasise the importance of consistency across the A level suite of qualifications. Students need to be able to select A levels with confidence that where they represent a relevant progression route to HE, they will be valued equally. When assessing applicants, institutions need stability, predictability and consistency in A levels as indicators of both subject and general ability. The role of A levels in admissions to HE 13. The consultation document emphasises the importance of A levels in admissions to HE and we note that one of the intended achievements of the reforms that A levels should continue to support access to, and selection for, HE (paragraph 34). To ensure that this outcome can be realised it is necessary to understand how A levels are used in admissions to HE today, both to inform debate about current issues and to evaluate the potential impacts of any reforms. 14. A levels are the most common unit of measurement used to set minimum entry requirements, advise learners, teachers and advisers, make offers of an HE place (usually on a conditional basis reflecting predicted A level grades), and to inform the decision on whether or not ultimately to accept an applicant. They are commonly used as a benchmark against which other qualifications are compared for admissions purposes and are now fundamental, in England, to the management of student numbers. As such HE providers need to have confidence that A levels will provide a consistent currency for admissions purposes. This consistency needs to be present in two distinct, but equally important, ways: As a consistent indicator of specific subject knowledge (where particular knowledge is a prerequisite for a course). As a consistent general indicator of ability (where HEIs are looking for a certain level of attainment rather than subject specific knowledge). 15. Whilst it is acknowledged that prior educational attainment remains the best single indicator of success at undergraduate level, it is also important to recognise that a more holistic assessment of applicants is at the heart of fair admissions. 16. The Schwartz review says that „a fair admissions system should enable institutions to select students who are able to complete the course as judged by their achievements 2 and their potential‟ and that in assessing merit and potential „institutions may legitimately consider other factors in addition to examination results, including: the educational context of an applicant‟s formal achievement; other indicators of potential and capability (such as the results of additional testing or assessment, including interviews, or non- academic experiences and relevant skills); and how an individual applicant‟s experiences, skills and perspectives could contribute to the learning environment.‟ 17. Therefore, whilst central to admissions, it is important to remember that previous academic achievement and predicted A levels grades alone are not the sole determinant of whether an applicant is made an offer, or accepted by an institution. Approach used in our response 18. Given the need to understand how A levels are used in admissions to HE, our response presents some initial analytical work exploring what we believe are some of the key issues which need to be considered in developing A level reforms, namely: Establishing the importance of A levels within the set of qualifications offered by young English applicants to HE between 2008 and 2012. Whether there are any indications from the admissions decisions made by institutions that there is variation in howA level grades and subjects are valued for HE admissions. Within the subset of A level candidates who apply to HE, what the patterns of prior GCSE attainment across different A level grades and subjects suggest about how the current A levels offer a consistent measure of general ability for HE admission. What evidence is there from people taking different numbers of A levels about how institutions appear to balance higher grades („depth of attainment‟) against number of subjects („breadth of attainment‟), including mixtures of AS and A level qualifications. 19. Our analytical work is presented at Annex A. Whilst these analyses are exploratory in scope, we think that the issues they raise need to be understood in order to proceed successfully with A level reforms that are intended to support access and selection to HE. 20. The key points from this analytical work show that: A levels are the predominant qualifications used to support applications to all types of HE and are often presented as pending qualifications1. Their nature and predictability are therefore central to admissions across all institutions. In recent years A levels have been increasingly presented in combination with other qualifications (this applied to 29 per cent of applicants with A levels in 2012). Over a quarter of those applicants holding A levels in combination with other qualifications haveBTECs whilst a similar proportion have Extended Project Qualifications (EPQs). 1 As applications are submitted prior to achievement of qualifications, the analysis carried out was on ‘pending’ qualifications. 3 This could suggest that BTEC qualifications are meeting a need not currently met by A levels and that a concurrent review of the level 3 BTECs might be needed to understand the impacts of A level reforms on those wanting to mix qualification types. This highlights the complex and interdependent environment in which this A level reform takes place and the potential impacts of any reforms need to be considered in these terms. The acceptance rate of applicants with A levels varies by both grade and subject (see Annex A, figures 1 and 2). This is especially the case when looking at admissions to institutions who select students with higher grades of qualifications on entry. The GCSE attainment background of HE applicants achieving particular A level grades varies by subject (see Annex A, figure 3). Although there could be several explanations for this, it may indicate an issue of consistency between A level subjects that could be of importance to HE admissions. Currency 21. UCAS believes that a well-understood currency for national qualifications is essential for public confidence2.